The Fox and the Hound
Foxes run and hounds run after them. That’s the general idea. However, supposing a fox and a hound met and became friends when they were still very young and naive. Would that make a difference to their roles in later life? That’s what the movie The Fox and the Hound was about. An orphaned fox kit, Todd, met a hound puppy, Copper. Oblivious of their roles in the hunt, they became friends.
Would this friendship still mean anything when it was time for the hound to hunt the fox?
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The Fox and the Hound was the twenty-fourth movie in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. This 1981 production was based roughly on the novel of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix. It was jointly directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich. Tod, the fox, was voiced by Keith Michell as a kit, and by Mickey Rooney later. Copper, the hound, was voiced by Corey Feldman as a pup and by Kurt Russell later. Widow Tweed, the kindly lady who gave Tod a home, spoke through Jeanette Nolan while Big Mama, the motherly owl, who was like a godmother to Tod, spoke through Pearl Bailey.
The fox is an omnivorous mammal belonging to the Canidae family. There are many related species which are generally called foxes with the common denominator being a long, narrow snout and a bushy tail. Etymologically, the word ‘fox’ is derived from various words in various languages which generally mean ‘tail’. The males are called dogs or reynards and the females are called vixens. Young foxes are called kits, pups or cubs.
The hound is a generic name which covers several dog breeds. Hounds are classified in three groups. Sight hounds follow their prey by sight and depend on speed to get the job done. Scent hounds use their noses to follow the trail of their prey and depend on endurance to run their target to the inevitable end. The third group uses both sight and scent to play their role in the hunt.
Copper, the hound in the movie, was a Bloodhound crossbred. Bloodhounds are scent hounds. Originally bred to hunt deer and wild boar, the Bloodhound is now trained specifically to track human beings. A Bloodhound can even follow a very long, cold trail which is many days old. This unique ability made the Bloodhound perfect for police work.
The movie The Fox and the Hound started with a fox hunt. Tod’s mother, the hunted fox, seeing that there was no way she could elude the hounds, hid her kit before leading the chase in another direction which ended with her death. A kindly owl, Big Mama, found the abandoned, orphaned fox kit and, through a simple ruse, got it adopted by the kindly widow tweed.
Tod met Copper, a hound pup, and they became the best of friends without realizing their roles in later life. Time passed and Copper grew up to be a trained hunting dog while Tod became a handsome, full-grown fox. Widow Tweed took Tod to a game preserve thinking that the fox would be safer there. There, Tod met Vixey (voiced by Sandy Duncan), a vixen, and they hit it off right from the start.
Their happiness was short-lived. Copper was brought to the game preserve to hunt the fox. The chase began in earnest. Would Tod survive the hunt? Even more importantly, would Tod and Copper’s childhood friendship survive?
This movie, though in animated format, was more than just entertainment for the young and young at heart. Right from the beginning, from the first hunt and its cruel conclusion, to the end, which nearly brought the final hunt to another deadly conclusion, the focus was on the deeper question of friendship.
Watch The Fox and the Hound DVD and find out how strong true friendship can be
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